Australian cops are hoping to crack down on cyber crime using international e-crime policing methods after picking the brains of their overseas counterparts at a conference in Adelaide this week.
e-crime, the result of the exponential growth in the use of technology, is a global issue and Australian law enforcement agencies can't afford to work in isolation, according to Barbara Etter, director of the Australasian centre of policing research.
"e-crime is a really, truly global issue," Etter said. "We hope to extract the maximum benefit from our international counterparts."
Following the lead from overseas, Australia is touting to set up a National Centre for Cybercrime - similar to the UK's Hi-tech Crime Unit and the National Infrastructure Protection Centre (NIPC) in the US.
"We need to establish something on a national Australian level," Etter said, as a means of becoming more "effective and responsive" to e-crime.
Australia is also looking to step up legislation and give more policing powers when dealing with e-criminals, as seen in the US.
"If only one country doesn't have legislative provisions you've got the weakest link," Etter said.
The US is ahead of the game with the power to move really quickly to freeze and retain Internet Service Provider (ISP) data logs, according to Etter.
Having recognised the importance of being able to react almost in realtime, Australia is now looking at the option of addressing retention and preservation, Etter said.
"A priority issue for us is also the interception of emails," Etter added.
Currently the tricky issue is determining when it's the right of the telecommunications company to intercept emails and when a warrant is required under Commonwealth legislation, Etter explained.
"A few things need to be examined before we get the appropriate powers [to intercept]."
Australian law enforcement officials are also pushing on with the final draft of a report on criminal offence provisions.
"With a lot of new technology emerging, legislation has to be able to accommodate new types of criminal activities," Etter said. The report will help set up a Model Criminal Code, which it will then be up to each state and territory to adopt.
Another area overseas initiative highlighted at the International Policing Conference is the establishment of partnerships within the private sector.
In the US, NIPC actively goes out and gets private sector people involved, Etter said.
Such interaction "provides a two-way flow of information which is essential and which we need to start in Australia".
"The private sector is already playing a significant role in the investigation of fraud etc. against large companies," Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Palmer said.
"However, the broader private sector also has a key role in preventing e-crime and computer security incidents and ensuring that appropriate risk management strategies are adopted to protect key business systems."
